'Embezzlement, Fraud, and Sexual Violence' Defendant Sentenced to Prison in First Trial... Fugitive Arrested After Bail Escape

Gemstone Deposit of 100 Million Won Reverts to the Treasury

The prosecution apprehended a defendant who fled after being granted bail following a first trial sentence of imprisonment on charges including fraud, embezzlement, bribery, and sexual violence.

'Embezzlement, Fraud, and Sexual Violence' Defendant Sentenced to Prison in First Trial... Fugitive Arrested After Bail Escape

On the 16th, the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office Trial Division (Chief Prosecutor Park Daehwan) announced that they tracked down and arrested Mr. A (52), who was absent and fled on the sentencing date of the retrial on the 1st, and confiscated the bail bond of 100 million won to the national treasury. Mr. A is accused of embezzling approximately 850 million won of company funds during an apartment sales project, providing money and entertainment to a member of the National Assembly's aide and others, committing 400 million won worth of apartment purchase fraud, and sexual violence against an employee of the sales office.

In 2018, Mr. A was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison in the first trial and was detained in court. The appeal trial was remanded due to procedural defects such as insufficient guidance on the citizen participation trial process, and after being released on bail on the condition of paying 100 million won, he did not appear on the sentencing date and fled.

The prosecution identified a building in Gyeonggi Province, where Mr. A was presumed to be hiding, and attempted to arrest him by staking out the location in January of this year. On March 8, a special arrest team was formed, and they conducted multiple field investigations of suspected hiding places. During this process, they found a burner phone, analyzed call records and movement routes, and arrested Mr. A in Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province on the 1st.

A prosecution official stated, “We will continue to confiscate bail bonds from fugitives during trials and make every effort to track and arrest them to strictly enforce the state's criminal authority.”